PRESS
RALLY CAPS AMONG 16th REELABILITIES FILM FESTIVAL: NEW YORK LINE UP
26 films exploring and celebrating the artistic expression and engaging stories of groundbreaking disabled talent will be showcased at 16th edition of ReelAbilities Film Festival: New York, taking place in multiple venues throughout NYC, Long Island and Westchester, with a selection of titles available online from April 3–10, 2024. The Festival will open with the NYC premiere of Tony Goldwyn’s Ezra, starring Goldwyn himself, alongside Bobby Cannavale, Robert De Niro, Rose Byrne, Vera Farmiga, Rainn Wilson and Whoopi Goldberg, at a red carpet celebration at the NY Times Center. The film, introducing William Fitzgerald in the title character, will be followed by Q&A with the cast and crew.. ​Read More
LSL SHINES IN COMING -OF -AGE BASEBALL FILM
Rally Caps, a novel-cum-independent film, is the story of a young pitcher named Jordy who sustains a traumatic injury playing baseball which prevents him from going back to the mound. Meeting another baseball player, Lucas, at summer camp, reignites Jordy’s love of the sport as they become fast friends and a formidable pitcher/catcher duo. The forthcoming film, starring Judd Hirsch and Amy Smart, features children who are deaf playing the parts of the characters who are deaf. Colten Pride, who has unilateral hearing loss plays Lucas, and Noelle Pride, who has bilateral hearing loss and uses two cochlear implants, plays Niki in the film. Colten and Noelle’s father is Curtis Pride, a retired Major League Baseball player who is also deaf. Read More
JUDD HIRSCH, AMY SMART and CARSON MINNIEAR STAR IN POIGNANT FAMILY FILM 'RALLY CAPS'
Inspirational coming-of-age film ‘Rally Caps’ is based on true events and channels classic sports movies. The independent film, which is currently in post-production, is adapted from the book by father-daughter writing team Stephen J. Cutler and Jodi Michelle Cutler. The story focuses on a young boy named Jordy, whose father has died. Jordy sustains a serious injury during a Little League baseball tryout, but when he goes to summer camp he’s inspired to come back to the mound as he forms a friendship with a deaf boy named Lucas. Read More
PRODUCER WILLIAM GARCIA: 5 THINGS I WISH SOMEONE TOLD ME WHEN I FIRST BECAME A FILMMAKER
As a part of our series called “ 5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me When I First Became A Filmmaker”,
I had the distinct pleasure of interviewing William Garcia.William Garcia is an award-winning producer based in Los Angeles, California. With a passion for television and film, he has been
in the entertainment industry for more than 20 years. He was born and raised in Miami, Florida,
and his childhood was filled with days at the beach, Cuban food, dancing, and music.William’s career started in news, sports, and documentaries; he filmed some of the most newsworthy political, sporting, and historical events of the late 20th century, for which he won over a dozen awards and nominations. Read More
NEW HORIZONS: GET TO KNOW PLAYWORLD PICTURES FOUNDER WILLIAM GARCIA.
Playworld Pictures founder William Garcia has helped pave the way for Latinx people in TV and film over the last two decades, and is not slow to tell his story. As time goes on it is becoming clear that Black and Latinx Americans are the majority, and Hollywood has less and less of a choice to resist reflecting that. We were lucky enough to take more than a few moments with the producer and get some insight into his journey thus far and what more he sees for himself on the horizon. Tell us about your history in entertainment. How did you start your journey? Read More
WHY MOVIES PRODUCED BY PLAYWORLD PICTURES TELL LATIN-AMERICAN STORIES IN A FRESH WAY.
William Garcia, the American-Cuban founder of LA-based Playworld Pictures, has had a varied career from TV broadcasting to film production. Now a producer, his latest film is ‘Samland’, an immigrant story that William describes as a “tribute to those who search for the American Dream”. This brings him full circle, as he grew up in Miami, Florida, with days filled with Cuban food, escaping to the beach, and dancing at the Forest a Teen Night Club in Hialeah, Florida and area known for Latinos. He says: “I’m a first-generation American, born and raised in Miami, but my blood is Cuban. Mom and Dad were born in Cuba; I was raised with Cuban food, salsa, the language and the culture.”
CONVERSATION WITH DIEGO OSORIO
Today we’d like to introduce you to Diego Osorio. Diego, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin? Not at all, thank you for reaching out! Well, it all started in Caracas. I’m originally from Venezuela, of Colombian parents. I was always inclined to the arts, same like my two older brothers. I played a lot with action figure toys, and every time I did it was like a new movie, with narration and all. Read More
FOR SAMLAND, DIRECTOR JUAN PABLO REYES FINDS INSPIRATION GROWING UP IN MIAMI.
Growing up in Kendall, Juan Pablo Reyes enjoyed hearing his mom regale him with tales of clients in green-card marriages. "She was a paralegal working in immigration law for 35 years," Reyes tells New Times. "These stories she told always stuck with me — about couples who didn't match physically or personality-wise, but they made it work to get their goals. It was fascinating to me: to pretend to be in love for two or three years. They'd create these fake photo albums and fake weddings." Read More
ONLINE WITH LOVE SELECTED FOR THE U.S. HISPANIC SHOWCASE FROM FILMARKET HUB
Drum roll, please! The list including the selected projects of the first Filmarkethub U.S. Hispanic Showcase is here. After presenting their ideas in a two-day virtual pitch event dedicated to feature films and scripted series, moviemakers are now one step closer to seeing their films on the screen. Filmarkethub’s new initiative aims to discover emerging Latinx aspiring producers, writers, and directors with high-quality stories and connect them with top-tier companies in the industry, including BTF Media, El Estudio, and Exile Content Gaumont, Pantaya and The Mediapro Studio. Read More
GRAVITAS VENTURES ACQUIRES "SAMLAND" FOR NORTH AMERICA DISTRIBUTION
Gravitas Ventures has acquired North American rights to distribute writer-director Juan Pablo Reyes’ Samland. The film, which premiered at the 2021 Full Bloom Film Festival in Statesville, NC., is the story of a desperate immigrant who enters a marriage of convenience from an unscrupulous drug dealer to his ex-girlfriend Samantha, a young woman running from her past and blinded by her drug addiction. Read More
SAMLAND - OFFICIAL SELECTION - NEW YORK LATINO FILM FESTIVAL 2021
Presented by Warner Media. The New York Latino Film Festival (NYLFF) is the premier Urban Latino film event in the country. Since its founding in 1999, the NYLFF produces culturally relevant and entertaining experiences that build audiences for Latino cinema, support the film community with professional development and foster relationships for Latino talent. Programming includes the flagship film festival in New York City, competition programs and community programs. Read More.
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EXCLUSIVE: Cast has been set for Rally Caps, a baseball themed family feature from writer-director Lee Cipolla (The Shift). Oscar-nominee Judd Hirsch (Uncut Gems), Amy Smart (Star Girl) and Carson Minniear (Palmer) have all signed up. The film is based on the novel written by father-daughter team Stephen J. Cutler and Jodi Michelle Cutler. Also starring are Curtis Pride, his children Noelle Pride, Colten Pride, and Tim Kurkjian. It follows a youth baseball player who has his dreams of pitching for a Little League travel team derailed by a devastating injury on the field. After a long recovery process, he goes off to away camp with his older brother where he befriends a deaf catcher and his sister. Read More
SAMLAND ACCEPTED TO THE FULL BLOOM FILM FESTIVAL.
The Full Bloom Film Festival is dedicated to bringing quality, diverse, cinema to Statesville, NC, a multifaceted art-conscious city in North Carolina. Just North of Charlotte, there is something for everyone. FBFF will take place this year from September 9th - 11th in and around Historic Downtown Statesville. Read More
FOLLOWED NAMED MATTI PATTI'S TOP 10 FILMS OF 2020. It was quite the oddball year, and unfortunately no industry was safe from the strife that the coronavirus pandemic caused. The film and theater industry were some of the worst hit, as major releases were pushed back and movie theatres shut down for a prolonged period of time. Read More
Found Footage Horror Film ‘Followed’ Finds International Sales Deal After Top Ten Box Office Debut In U.S. EXCLUSIVE: MPI Media Group has acquired international sales right to U.S. found footage horror film Followed. In the indie pic, a controversial social media influencer stays at a cursed hotel to gain more subscribers. But what begins as a fun investigative challenge quickly descends into a personal hell. Followed was released two weeks ago in North America, where in a coronavirus context it has been a top ten movie at the box office, accumulating more than $300,000 from only 44 theaters at widest point of release. The film has had particular success at drive-ins, according to producers. Read More
FULLSCREEN MEDIA has given the greenlight to H8TERS, an original series starring digital comedy’s Kian Lawley and Jc Caylen, with a 10-episode order. The new comedy pokes fun at internet celebrity and Millennial culture. Produced by Astronauts Wanted (a joint venture between former MTV Networks Chairperson/CEO Judy McGrath and Sony Music Entertainment), H8TERS is written by Cody Lutz and Max Lavine and expected to premiere in early 2017. The shot-in-L.A. series will be available exclusively on Fullscreen, the commercial-free subscription service available via iPhone, iPad, Apple TV, Android phones and tablets, Chromecast and online at Fullscreen.com. Read More
The Hollywood Report. Yoram Globus’ New Movie Venture Nabs $50M Finance Deal, First Project (Exclusive)
Yoram Globus, the former president of The Cannon Group and MGM, has secured a $50 million movie financing deal for his latest production venture, Rebel Way Entertainment. With Yoram Globus as chairman and Ori Globus as president-CEO, Rebel Way is also managed by William Garcia, executive vp development & production and COO; Roy Lev, executive vp business affairs; Meredith Hight, CFO; and Gianni Biasetti Sr., vp production.
Variety. Loren Cass. A starkly radical film debut of uncommon power and artistic principle, Chris Fuller’s “Loren Cass” announces a genuinely original filmmaking talent who literally pulls no punches in his depiction of teen angst and racial warfare on the streets of 1997 St. Petersburg, Fla. Suffused with pessimism and an overarching sense of the loneliness of modern American life, the pic affirms a vital alternative to the usual adolescent drama, making even Larry Clark look tame by comparison. Sure to be deemed commercially toxic, the pic deserves a brave distrib that knows how to work the angles. Major fest berths are a lock.